


Cleaning up the Mess

by lasairfhiona



Series: It's a Mess [2]
Category: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-06
Updated: 2011-10-06
Packaged: 2017-10-24 08:46:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/261400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasairfhiona/pseuds/lasairfhiona





	Cleaning up the Mess

It shouldn't hurt this much, but it does. Still even after all this time. It' had been six months since he'd seen Harry face to face. Regardless of how it made it him feel, he still stood in the living room at what used to be his home.

His heart clenched when Harry didn't even look at him. Chip had kept him informed about Harry – what his lover, ex-lover, was doing. What his state of mind seemed to be. Besides Angie, Katie and the lab crew, Chip and Roy Park were the only ones who saw Harry on a regular basis. And although Admiral Park never said it, not that he'd tell him anyway, the three-star Admiral was worried about his old friend. Chip had convinced him Harry still loved him. But… maybe Chip was wrong. Maybe Harry had moved on as Admiral Park often told him.

"Harry?" Lee called again, wondering if Harry had even heard him the first time since he had a tendency to block everything out if he was concentrating on something. Another thing that had been a bone of contention between them.

"I heard you the first time, Lee," Harry answered finally turning to glance at him after downing the rest of his drink. "You want to talk now? After six months?" Harry asked, his voice laced with sarcasm. "You didn't want to talk when I did, what makes you think *I* want to talk to you now?"

Lee sigh. She should have known Harry wouldn't make it easy for him. Never mind the fact that Harry had a point. Six months ago, he hadn't wanted to talk to Harry. The things they said to one another hurt too much. Maybe waiting for so long had hurt any chances for him and Harry to do more than regret the past.

"I don't know, Harry. I just thought maybe we should try. If not for us then for Seaview and the crew," Lee said as he crossed the rest of the room to lean on the large windows and face Harry. 'They need you." He hoped Harry's love of the grey lady and her crew would at least allow them to talk about Harry coming back to Seaview where he belonged.

Harry stood and went to fill his glass with another double of bourbon. Turning to look at Lee, he said, "You should have thought about that before you told me to stay away."

"Damnit Harry," Lee exclaimed, pounding the glass. "You have no idea what you were doing to the crew, to me. The stress we were under when you were there was unbearable."

"Seaview is *mine* Lee. *I* built her along with most of those men. I, we, know all about the stress. My presence there kept everyone there working in top form including the shipyard personnel," Harry paused and took a deep breath. He needed to explain to Lee *why* he needed everyone working hard and the ramifications of them slacking off after he'd left. "Seaview ended up being over a month late coming out of the yards and the delayed sea-trials further delayed missions we were supposed to be on."

"Are you blaming me for being easy on the men?" Lee asked turning slightly, leaning his back on the thick glass, as he watched Harry swirling the alcohol in the cut crystal glass.

"Easy on the crew, no. They will go above and beyond what you ask of them. But it's a simple fact that you don't wear stars on your shoulders to keep the shipyard personnel motivated," Harry stated honestly. He didn't need to tell Lee how many times he'd been called to Washington to explain the delays until he'd been forced to ask Roy Park to go to Bremerton and light a fire under people.

In Harry's anger, Lee had seen one good thing – Harry wanted to come back to Seaview. He hadn't said it in so many words but he knew Harry and knew how to read him. It was time for him to swallow his pride and ask the question he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to. "Am I the reason you stayed away?"

"Ignoring the fact you asked me to?" Harry asked, clarifying what he'd asked.

"I never expected you to take that to heart. You never had before, but yes, ignoring that fact," Lee answered, looking away from Harry's intense gaze and out the window toward where he knew Seaview was berthed.

The sharp rap of the glass being set down had him turning back around and watching as Harry headed toward the kitchen. He followed wondering what Harry was going to do. He got his answer when he saw the frames stacked on the table and pile of shredded pictures. They were in the same place he left them. Harry had never cleaned up the mess.

Picking up a handful of the photographic paper, Harry looked at him. "You do this when you moved out and didn't expect me to take your 'stay away' to heart?"

Lee hung his head. "*That* is one of the many things I regret the most. All I can say is that I was hurt and angry." The turn of the conversation took told him one thing – Chip had been right. He could see the pain etched in Harry's expression.

"Why now, Lee?" Harry asked, opening his hand and letting the pieces of the pictures fall back on the table, before turning and going back into the living room brushing past Lee as he to stand in front of the windows.

Lee followed, leaning against the window a few feet away from Harry. How did he explain to Harry why he'd come now and why he'd waited so long? How did he explain and not reveal thing Chip, and Admiral Park, had told him in confidence.

Lee shrugged and answered quietly, "I don't know, Harry. I wanted to see you. I wanted to know why you hadn't been to Seaview. I wanted to know if you were as miserable as I was…"

"You're miserable?" Harry asked interrupting. He took a good look at Lee for the first time since he'd come in. "Roy was wrong," he commented more to himself.

"What did Admiral Parks say, Harry?" Lee asked quietly now knowing for sure that Admiral park wasn't in favour of them getting back together.

"That you had moved on," Harry answered.

Lee almost laughed. Almost. If it wasn't him in the situation and it wasn't he and Harry that had been manipulated by a friend, he would have. "Funny, he told me the same thing."

Harry thought for a moment then moved closer to Lee so there was less than a foot between them. "Lee what happened to us."

"Too much stress. Too many arguments. Too many hard words between us," Lee answered sadly ticking off the main points of what happened between them – something he'd put a lot of thought into.

"Do you think maybe we could repair the damage we did to each other?" Harry asked putting voice to the question he often asked himself.

"God… I want that… but…" Lee started

"We need to learn to trust again," Harry finished resisting the urge to touch Lee.

"Yes," Lee agreed, feeling the weight on his heart begin to lift.

"So we start over," Harry stated, knowing what they had to do.

"Sounds like a good plan."

"Join me for dinner?" Harry asked, remembering they often had dinner together long before they became lovers.

"I'd be glad to," Lee replied with a smile. It was the dinners they shared that built their friendship and their love the first time. It seemed like a good way to rebuild their relationship.

By silent agreement they headed to the kitchen to begin their dinner. When Lee saw the empty frames and the shredded pictures, he told Harry, "Let me clean up this mess." Lee reached for the pile of empty frames.

I'll help," Harry said reaching for the same stack of frames.

When their hands touched it set off something in both of them. It was the first time they touched in six months. Without thought, they ended up in each other's arms. Lee sighed at the feel of being back where he belonged –in Harry's arms. He knew beyond a shadow of doubt that he and Harry could make it back together.

The end


End file.
